Anxiety

All of us at one time or the other have experienced an unusual feeling, commonly called as butterflies in stomach, experienced just before any major event in life like performing on stage; tension when boss is angry; before first date and many such situations where heart pounds as if in danger and this feeling of an unusual fear is called as Anxiety. Being anxious is quite in harmony with normal life, as everyone reacts at some time with anxiety.

Anxiety can be defined as an unpleasant, disagreeable and vague feeling, mostly expressed as restlessness, and apprehension along with pounding of heart, breathlessness, dryness of mouth, shivering, coldness of hands and feet. Anxiety is a result of an insecure mind which reacts to circumstances that are evidently unpleasant to a person but are not openly threatening. It helps in coping up with situations like examination – making a person study hard, perform well, and keep on toes while giving a public presentation.

Fear resembles anxiety. The sense of fear is more internal than external, which strongly leads to an attack of apprehension. Generally fear occurs as a response to certain dangers or threats, which are from known external sources where as in anxiety, there is avague, unrealistic, unknown or unrecognized internal source causing feeling of danger. It produces confusion of mind, disturbing the intelligence and learning, thereby, causing distortion of sense of perception and interpretation.

Some might begin to have anxiety as a routine than normal, which might have an adverse affect on their life. Under this condition, consulting a doctor or a psychiatrist or a psychologist may help.